Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The practice of eco-development secures support from local communities and other stakeholders for management of protected areas [ ] 123 Leadership in practice Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 empowers the provincial state government to declare areas of significant biological diversity as Bi- odiversity Heritage Sites in consulta- tion with local bodies. 11 Indian sites covering an area of 941.21 km 2 had been declared by the end of 2017. India has designated 18 Bio- sphere Reserves, covering an area of 89,531 km 2 , of which 10 are included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Eco-Sensitive Zones are notified around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries under Environ- ment (Protection) Act 1986. Wetlands are legally protected under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017. The National Wetland Inventory and As- sessment of 2011 identifies wetlands in India covering 4.63 per cent of the geographic area. Nearly 60 per cent of these wetlands fall in the legally protected areas discussed above. The remaining 40 per cent comprise natu- ral and human-made wetlands. The National Forest Policy aims to conserve the biological diversi- ty of the natural forests. The Joint Forest Management initiative of the government provides for involvement of local communities in the manage- ment and conservation of the forest resources through establishment of Joint Forest Management Commit- tees. This includes recognition of the rights of tribes and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources and dwellings. In the area of wildlife conservation, an independent evaluation of India’s 125 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries took place from 2006 to 2014, and this exercise will continue for 125 PAs, including the country’s Tiger Reserve Network, during the period from 2017 to 2018. One of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the objective of its Nagoya Pro- tocol on Access and Benefit Sharing is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genet- ic resources. India is implementing this objective through the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. Ratification of the Nagoya Protocol during India’s Presidency, enabling its entry into force on 12 October 2014 — more than a year before its target date — was a major step towards achieving the first of the global Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The pivotal role played by India in achieving this showcased the coun- try’s leadership in biodiversity in the global arena. Grey langur monkey in Rishikesh India T hanks to its area-based conservation measures, along with protected areas designated under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, India has over 20 per cent of its total geographical area under biodiversity conservation, thereby exceeding the Aichi Biodiversity Target of 17 per cent. India’s 12 National Biodiversity Targets build on a range of existing activities in many areas. There are three levels of planning unit for establishing a representative network of protected areas (PAs), based on biogeographic classification according to zones, provinces and biomes. The practice of eco-development secures support from local communities and other stakeholders for the management of PAs. Wikimedia Commons